Treacy elected chairman of Virginia Chamber of Commerce

Published January 25, 2017 by Jessica Sabbath

The Virginia Chamber of Commerce has elected Dennis Treacy, president of the Smithfield Foundation, as chairman of its board of directors.

Treacy has served in leadership roles with Smithfield Foods since 2002. He previously served as Virginia’s director of environmental quality and as an assistant attorney general in the natural resources section of the Virginia Attorney General’s office.

Treacy, who was first vice chair of the chamber’s board in 2016, succeeds Chairman Tom Palmer, senior vice president and regional vice president for the Central Virginia regional commercial banking office of Wells Fargo.

In addition to his role at the chamber, Treacy serves as vice rector on the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors and is chairman of VIRGINIAforever, a group of businesses and environmental groups that advocate for water quality and land conservation.

“We have two top goals for the Virginia Chamber in 2017,” Treacy said in a statement. “We will assemble a bold plan for long-term economic growth with Blueprint Virginia 2025. And we will implement those recommendations, strengthening Virginia’s reputation as a top state for business.”

The chamber also announced Wednesday a formal partnership with the Virginia Council of CEOs. The council is a nonprofit association that connects Virginia CEOs for mentoring and professional growth. Under the agreement, council members will be granted dual membership with the chamber. The organizations will work together on events and initiatives, including updating the chamber's long-term economic development plan, Blueprint Virginia 2025.

The board of directors also elected 19 new members at the annual meeting, including electing Suzy Kelly as first vice chair. Kelly is CEO of Jo-Kell Inc., headquartered in Chesapeake. She was re-elected to the Chesapeake City Council in 2014.

Other new board members include:

James J. Anderson, III, partner, McGuireWoods LLP

John C. Asbury, president & CEO, Union Bankshares/Union Bank & Trust

Timothy Bentley, resident vice president, Norfolk Southern Corp.

Gilbert T. Bland, CEO, The GilJoy Group

Tad Deriso, president & CEO, Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corp.

Bill Downey, president & CEO, Riverside Health System

Calvin W. Fowler Jr., president & CEO, Williams Mullen

Herbert D. Frerichs Jr., general counsel & government relations, Perdue Farms Inc.

Adam Fried, CEO, Atlantic Builders Ltd.

Paul Henderson, managing director, S&P Global Inc.

Jim Kibler, president, Virginia Natural Gas

Michael W. Matthews, past chair, Virginia Council of CEOs

John G. Milliken, chairman, Board of Commissioners, Virginia Port Authority

Dan Pleasant, COO, Dewberry

James Reinhart, chief operating officer, Quality Technology Services

Randall Smith, executive vice president & COO, Liberty University

Frank M. Tamberrino, president & CEO, Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce

William Tavenner, vice president, sales, Ferguson Enterprises

Nicole Palya Wood, senior director, PhRMA